Dr Rabin Man Shakya
Nepal Oregon News
Portland, Nov 23 (Nepal Oregon News): Is there any name of a Nepali who is committed to enhance and popularize Nepalese Buddhism in the West? After ten years of short history of the Nritya Mandala Mahavihara (NMM) in Portland, USA, Prajwal Vajracharya is a name to reckon with in the field of promoting Nepalese Buddhism, Charya dance, rituals, arts and culture in the USA.
Portland with its diverse Nepalese population is a microcosm of community at large. We have been performing life-cycle rituals for Newahs as well as non-Newahs too, says Prajwal Vajracharya, priest and co-founder of the Nritya Mandala Mahavihara. Commitment and dedication to promote and popularize the esoteric Charya dances and Newah Buddhist rituals have always been among Prajwal's core strength. Just as significantly, however, Prajwal's dance career and experience mirror the trajectory of history of dissemination of esoteric Charya Nritya in the West. And ten-year history of the Mahavihara is closely inter-related with the history of creativity and dedication of Prajwal Vajracharya.
Nepalese Portlanders see the Nritya Mandala Mahavihara as the religious and cultural bulwark, an object of veneration and an outlet for their cultural and socio-religious activities. After all, Nritya Mandala Mahavihara is definetely the pioneering Nepalese religious and cultural heritage in the USA. Needless to say, preservation and promotion of esoteric Buddhist Charya dances was the raison d' etre of the Nritya Mandala Mahavihara.
Many Nepalese Portlanders have mentioned it as one of the quintessential aspects of Prajwal's unrelenting commitment for preservation of Charya dance, rituals and Nepalese arts and culture. In fact, Nritya Mandala Mahavihara has made celebrating the Newah festivals and observing the Newah ceremonies centerpiece of its activities. Balancing personal works, trips to different countries, Charya dance teaching, observing Nepalese festivals and keeping up the Newah rituals are not always simple, but Prajwal Vajracharya is focusing on what is important in the long run.
Promoting, preserving and protecting traditional and cultural values of Nepal are not easy work always, but Nritya Mandala Mahavihara in Portland is giving it a shot. Its establishment in 2009 has paved the way for Nepalese Portlanders and beyond to carry on with lots of rituals and cultural ceremonies like the way it is done in the Kathmandu valley.
The Nritya Mandala Mahavihara - which is the only Nepalese Buddhist temple in the USA so far - has moved to centerstage in Nepalese community in Oregon by organizing scholarly presentations on rituals, culture and traditions of Nepal, by promoting Charya dances, by observing age-old festivals of the Kathmandu valley and by keeping alive the wonderful traditions and culture of the people of Nepal. Actually, the ten-year history of Nritya Mandala Mahavihara is the history of Charya dance school, history of rituals and Nepalese festivals and history of creativity.
To celebrate its tenth anniversary, the Nritya Mandala had embarked upon the different programs. And tenth anniversary of the Mahavihara started to be observed from Sept 21 to Nov 10, 2019 with various activities and programs. An opening celebration which consisted of various programs was organized at Henjyoji Shingen Temple in Portland on Saturday and Sunday Sept 21-22, 2019. The program, which was addressed by Rev Kosho Finch of Henjyoji temple and Prajwal Vajracharya, among others, was attended by almost 150 participants including luminaries of Portland's local Dharma communities, American and Nepalese Buddhists, office bearers and members of Nepali Association of Oregon, Nepaa Chhen and NRN-NCC-USA Oregon chapter.
A talk show on Nepalese food by Bikram Vaidya, Nepalese music performance by Dr Subhash Prajapati and the team, Mudra Movement Workshop by Prajwal Vajracharya, Making Newah Ritual Objects by Uppa and Dina Shakya and Anjali Bajracharya, Workshop on Sanskrit Scripts and Calligraphy by Dr Subhash Prajapati were the highlights of activities presented during the opening celebration.
Likewise, a scholarly talk on "Nepalese Buddhist Art and Iconography: What Makes It Distinct?" by Dr Gautama Vajracharya and a presentation on "Making Nepalese Buddhist Ritual Masks" by Alysha Graham, an artist, were organized on Sept 28, 2019 on the occasion of Nritya Mandala's tenth anniversary. Similarly, on Oct 16, 2019, a charismatic presentation on "Newah Tradition and Culture" by Daya Ratna Shakya was held to mark NMM's one decade of existence.
Apart from various presentations, "Maya's Mandala: A Play in Awakening" composed by Axi Nityananda featuring Erin Chmela and Quincy Davis was also launched at the Mahavihara in Portland on Oct 26, 2019 for celebrating the occasion. Furthermore, talks on "Jewelry in Nepalese Buddhist Culture" by Dr Christoph Emmrich and "Dharani Recitation in Nepalese Buddhist Community" by Dr Miroj Shakya were also organized on Nov 2, 2019 at the NMM to commemorate the event.
Meanwhile, to mark the occasion, a weeklong workshop on Gurumandala Puja conducted by priest Prajwal Vajracharya with participation of 10 community activists was also held. In addition, a scholarly and brilliant presentation "Tantric Priest in Nepalese Buddhism: Their Performance of Life Cycle Rituals and Other Ceremonies" by Dr Alexander von Rospatt was organized at the Mahavihara on Nov 9, 2019 to mark the milestone anniversary.
The interactions that the community members had with the distinguished professors and scholars were very powerful. The tenth anniversary of the Mahavihara was a cultural pot pourri - scholarly presentations, a play, workshops, Charya dances, music display songs and poems. The scholarly presentations were crucial for different reasons because they pointed out the need for preservation and protection of our rituals and traditions.
Almost two months of programs and scholarly presentations to mark the tenth anniversary concluded on Sunday Nov 10, 2019. Finally, a day-long program was organized on Nov 10, 2019 to conclude the tenth anniversary of the only one Nepalese Buddhist temple in the USA. The concluding event kicked off in the morning with fire ritual and Saptavidhanottara Puja which was performed by Guruju Prajwal Vajracharya. Special guest from Japan Yuko Okomoto presented Buddhist Dharani chanting for world peace based on Tendaichu tradition of Japan.
Meanwhile, on the same occasion, co-founder duo of NMM Helen Appell and Prajwal Vajracharya were honored with a plaque of appreciation for their unparalleled contributions to the cause of the Mahavihara. The plaque was handed over to them by Corinne Kakamura-Rybak and Uppa Shakya. The concluding day of celebration was followed by a talent show program and esoteric Charya dances.
Our tenth anniversary celebration is an important community event of the year, one that our Mahavihara has been observing every year since its inception in 2009, says Prajwal Vajracharya. There is no doubt that the Nritya Mandala Mahavihara offers a wide spectrum in terms of its activities: Temple for worshipping, Charya dance school, library, forum for presentations, a community center to celebrate local life cycle rituals and cultural festivals.
Given priest Vajracharya's relentless efforts to promote and preserve Nepalese rituals, arts, culture and traditions, the Mahavihara has not only acted as a platform for enhancing rituals and culture, it also has been able to garner support from local Dharma dignitaries, American and Nepalese Portlanders. Big part of the credit for such an outstanding achievements of the NMM goes to the co-founder duo Helen Appell and Prajwal Vajracharya.
Portland, Nov 23 (Nepal Oregon News): Is there any name of a Nepali who is committed to enhance and popularize Nepalese Buddhism in the West? After ten years of short history of the Nritya Mandala Mahavihara (NMM) in Portland, USA, Prajwal Vajracharya is a name to reckon with in the field of promoting Nepalese Buddhism, Charya dance, rituals, arts and culture in the USA.
Portland with its diverse Nepalese population is a microcosm of community at large. We have been performing life-cycle rituals for Newahs as well as non-Newahs too, says Prajwal Vajracharya, priest and co-founder of the Nritya Mandala Mahavihara. Commitment and dedication to promote and popularize the esoteric Charya dances and Newah Buddhist rituals have always been among Prajwal's core strength. Just as significantly, however, Prajwal's dance career and experience mirror the trajectory of history of dissemination of esoteric Charya Nritya in the West. And ten-year history of the Mahavihara is closely inter-related with the history of creativity and dedication of Prajwal Vajracharya.
Nepalese Portlanders see the Nritya Mandala Mahavihara as the religious and cultural bulwark, an object of veneration and an outlet for their cultural and socio-religious activities. After all, Nritya Mandala Mahavihara is definetely the pioneering Nepalese religious and cultural heritage in the USA. Needless to say, preservation and promotion of esoteric Buddhist Charya dances was the raison d' etre of the Nritya Mandala Mahavihara.
Many Nepalese Portlanders have mentioned it as one of the quintessential aspects of Prajwal's unrelenting commitment for preservation of Charya dance, rituals and Nepalese arts and culture. In fact, Nritya Mandala Mahavihara has made celebrating the Newah festivals and observing the Newah ceremonies centerpiece of its activities. Balancing personal works, trips to different countries, Charya dance teaching, observing Nepalese festivals and keeping up the Newah rituals are not always simple, but Prajwal Vajracharya is focusing on what is important in the long run.
Promoting, preserving and protecting traditional and cultural values of Nepal are not easy work always, but Nritya Mandala Mahavihara in Portland is giving it a shot. Its establishment in 2009 has paved the way for Nepalese Portlanders and beyond to carry on with lots of rituals and cultural ceremonies like the way it is done in the Kathmandu valley.
The Nritya Mandala Mahavihara - which is the only Nepalese Buddhist temple in the USA so far - has moved to centerstage in Nepalese community in Oregon by organizing scholarly presentations on rituals, culture and traditions of Nepal, by promoting Charya dances, by observing age-old festivals of the Kathmandu valley and by keeping alive the wonderful traditions and culture of the people of Nepal. Actually, the ten-year history of Nritya Mandala Mahavihara is the history of Charya dance school, history of rituals and Nepalese festivals and history of creativity.
To celebrate its tenth anniversary, the Nritya Mandala had embarked upon the different programs. And tenth anniversary of the Mahavihara started to be observed from Sept 21 to Nov 10, 2019 with various activities and programs. An opening celebration which consisted of various programs was organized at Henjyoji Shingen Temple in Portland on Saturday and Sunday Sept 21-22, 2019. The program, which was addressed by Rev Kosho Finch of Henjyoji temple and Prajwal Vajracharya, among others, was attended by almost 150 participants including luminaries of Portland's local Dharma communities, American and Nepalese Buddhists, office bearers and members of Nepali Association of Oregon, Nepaa Chhen and NRN-NCC-USA Oregon chapter.
A talk show on Nepalese food by Bikram Vaidya, Nepalese music performance by Dr Subhash Prajapati and the team, Mudra Movement Workshop by Prajwal Vajracharya, Making Newah Ritual Objects by Uppa and Dina Shakya and Anjali Bajracharya, Workshop on Sanskrit Scripts and Calligraphy by Dr Subhash Prajapati were the highlights of activities presented during the opening celebration.
Likewise, a scholarly talk on "Nepalese Buddhist Art and Iconography: What Makes It Distinct?" by Dr Gautama Vajracharya and a presentation on "Making Nepalese Buddhist Ritual Masks" by Alysha Graham, an artist, were organized on Sept 28, 2019 on the occasion of Nritya Mandala's tenth anniversary. Similarly, on Oct 16, 2019, a charismatic presentation on "Newah Tradition and Culture" by Daya Ratna Shakya was held to mark NMM's one decade of existence.
Apart from various presentations, "Maya's Mandala: A Play in Awakening" composed by Axi Nityananda featuring Erin Chmela and Quincy Davis was also launched at the Mahavihara in Portland on Oct 26, 2019 for celebrating the occasion. Furthermore, talks on "Jewelry in Nepalese Buddhist Culture" by Dr Christoph Emmrich and "Dharani Recitation in Nepalese Buddhist Community" by Dr Miroj Shakya were also organized on Nov 2, 2019 at the NMM to commemorate the event.
Meanwhile, to mark the occasion, a weeklong workshop on Gurumandala Puja conducted by priest Prajwal Vajracharya with participation of 10 community activists was also held. In addition, a scholarly and brilliant presentation "Tantric Priest in Nepalese Buddhism: Their Performance of Life Cycle Rituals and Other Ceremonies" by Dr Alexander von Rospatt was organized at the Mahavihara on Nov 9, 2019 to mark the milestone anniversary.
The interactions that the community members had with the distinguished professors and scholars were very powerful. The tenth anniversary of the Mahavihara was a cultural pot pourri - scholarly presentations, a play, workshops, Charya dances, music display songs and poems. The scholarly presentations were crucial for different reasons because they pointed out the need for preservation and protection of our rituals and traditions.
Almost two months of programs and scholarly presentations to mark the tenth anniversary concluded on Sunday Nov 10, 2019. Finally, a day-long program was organized on Nov 10, 2019 to conclude the tenth anniversary of the only one Nepalese Buddhist temple in the USA. The concluding event kicked off in the morning with fire ritual and Saptavidhanottara Puja which was performed by Guruju Prajwal Vajracharya. Special guest from Japan Yuko Okomoto presented Buddhist Dharani chanting for world peace based on Tendaichu tradition of Japan.
Meanwhile, on the same occasion, co-founder duo of NMM Helen Appell and Prajwal Vajracharya were honored with a plaque of appreciation for their unparalleled contributions to the cause of the Mahavihara. The plaque was handed over to them by Corinne Kakamura-Rybak and Uppa Shakya. The concluding day of celebration was followed by a talent show program and esoteric Charya dances.
Our tenth anniversary celebration is an important community event of the year, one that our Mahavihara has been observing every year since its inception in 2009, says Prajwal Vajracharya. There is no doubt that the Nritya Mandala Mahavihara offers a wide spectrum in terms of its activities: Temple for worshipping, Charya dance school, library, forum for presentations, a community center to celebrate local life cycle rituals and cultural festivals.
Given priest Vajracharya's relentless efforts to promote and preserve Nepalese rituals, arts, culture and traditions, the Mahavihara has not only acted as a platform for enhancing rituals and culture, it also has been able to garner support from local Dharma dignitaries, American and Nepalese Portlanders. Big part of the credit for such an outstanding achievements of the NMM goes to the co-founder duo Helen Appell and Prajwal Vajracharya.
